Can't Hurry Love
by playingmakebelieve
Summary: "In that book which is my memory, On the first page of the chapter that is the day when I first met you, Appear the words, 'Here begins a new life'." - Dante Alighieri Takes place in 1983. Can a young Crazy Lady and Burger Boy overcome every obstacle that stands in their way and still find happiness with in each other?
1. Prologue

**Hello all. It has been a very long time since I have posted anything and for that I am truly sorry. I know how frustrating it is to fall in love with a story and then the author out of nowhere seemingly just stops writing it. But I haven't forgotten. I just got burned out. However my inspiration has been rejuvinated and hopefully along with this story I can finish some one my other ones. Fingers cross!**

So this is a collaborative effort. I couldn't have done it with out coffeebeanner or my beta slovesemmett.

Chapter One and Two are already written and I'm working on chapter three so I'll probably post chapter one tomorrow. I hope you guys enjoy! :) 

1973

She had no idea where she was when the car came to a stop that Wednesday afternoon. She looked out of the tinted window of her mother's 72' Mercedes Benz 350 SL Convertible. It looked like they had arrived at a big house, but these houses weren't like the big houses in her neighborhood. This house was big and white with grey shutters and a big wrap around porch, and from her seat she could even see a stable for horses, which caused her little eyes to widen. "Come along, Lorelai," her mother said opening the back door. It was usual that her mother took her anywhere. Usually Lorelai was with her nanny, but her nanny was fired earlier that morning for serving her fruit chunks instead of fruit pieces as her mother specifically requested.

As Lorelai hopped out of the car and took her mother's hand she wondered why her mom was dressed so weird. She had a pink scarf tied around her head and big black sunglasses on her face. She also wondered where they were, but she knew better than to ask questions now. They walked up the stairs and into the big white house, but upon seeing the inside, it no longer looked like a house. Instead there was a big old desk in the middle of the room. The sign read INDEPENDENCE INN. But Lorelai was only five and couldn't read words that big yet.

Her mother picked her up and sat her down on a bench near the big desk. "Mommy, has to go over there and talk to the lady. I want you to sit here and behave. Do you understand?" She nodded and her mother smiled. "Good girl. And whatever you do, do not move from this spot. Even indoors you'll find a way to get your pretty new dress dirty." She sighed looking her over then stood up and walked over to the front desk. Where a pretty young blonde lady was scribbling something in a book.

"Excuse me, I need to reserve a room," she said after quickly looking around to make sure there was no one there she recognized that would in turn recognize her, even though she'd driven thirty miles from home to this god forsaken town to make sure of that.

Behind her a tall man with a tool belt on came in the room holding the hand of a little boy who was maybe six or seven. "Alright Lucas. Sit right there and try not to cause any more trouble." The boy gave the man a toothless smile.

"Okay Dad." He said as his father turned away and then he looked at the little girl beside him.

It was the first time their blue eyes met, but it wouldn't be the last.


	2. Young Love and an Away Game

**Young Love and an Away Game**

In the resplendent world of pomp and circumstance, or what Lorelai Gilmore called East Hartford, the fifteen year old woke up to the sound of her mother banging on the door. "Lorelai! Lorelai Gilmore this is your very last warning!" In lieu of knocking again she just let herself in and walked across the room to open the curtains. "Lorelai, you're going to be late for school."

The teenager groaned, rolling herself up in her sheets and burying her face in the pillows to hide from the light. "I'm up Mother!" she grumbled.

"Where have I heard that before?" her mother asked, and Lorelai could picture her rolling her eyes before she continued, "Don't make me come back up here, young lady. You need to be down at that breakfast table in five minutes."

Lorelai just let out another loud groan in response. She could hear the sound of Prada against the hardwood floor as her mother walked away. She took a deep breath and slowly sat up to allow her eyes to adjust to the morning light. "And a good morning to you too, Mom." She pushed herself up out of bed and walked into the bathroom to get ready for the day, which meant spending at least half her time trying to run a brush through her hair and tame it. For as long as she had lived she had never ever been a morning person. But she also couldn't afford to miss a day of school. She was at the top of her class and to keep Ava and Adolf off her back she'd have to keep it that way, so she quickly got up and changed into her uniform. She smiled proudly at her newly hemmed skirt. It was ¾ of an inch higher than it was supposed to be. Practice for Halloween this year as she was making both her own costume and her boyfriend's.

Once she got dressed, she took the stairs two at a time for breakfast. Her parents were sitting at the table. Her mother had a notebook in front of her detailing a list of what chores she wanted the maid to do that day and her father had his nose buried in the paper. She tried to grab a pastry and run out the door but then she heard, "Sit down Lorelai." Her mother said this without even looking up.

She rolled her eyes. "No time, sorry Mom! I've got to get to school. Don't worry Chris is gonna drive me! See ya!"

Without missing a beat or even giving her a glance she said, "Sit down Lorelai and eat your breakfast… get a plate for that."

Lorelai sighed and muttered something under her breath but she took a seat at the enormous table and quickly scarfed down her Danish. "Can I go now?" she asked mouth half full.

Emily gave her a sharp look now. "Lorelai… how many times do we have to go over table manners with you? I mean honestly…you're fifteen years old. Do I need to send you to finishing school?"

But Lorelai was up and walking out the door before Emily could even finish her lecture.

She let out a huge breath. It always took walking out the front door to feel like she could actually breathe. Luckily, right on time, her boyfriend pulled up in his brand new BMW, the third since he'd gotten his license two months ago.

Lorelai smirked at her beau's new glossy black vehicle. "Now that's a horse of a different color," she said running her hand over the undented, unscratched, hood that looked fresh from the dealership.

"Jump in Dorothy!" Chris joked as Lorelai walked around the front of the car to the passenger's side, plopping down on the new beige leather interior.

"It seems roomier than the last one," Lorelai said as she adjusted her seat before she tossed her book-loaded bag in the backseat.

"Why not upgrade when you can?" Chris shrugged with a sly smile.

The young lovebirds were in the same class at school but Christopher and Lorelai had known each other forever. They were best friends. It felt like they'd been dating forever but really it had only been for about a year and they'd been on and off three or four times since. Still, everyone loved them together, even Emily and Richard, and they never seemed to like any of her life choices. None of them except Chris. She thought he was probably the one but she also hated that she knew that so early in life. It all felt so Victorian and arranged. Chris was cool though. Albeit a little dangerous… he was always wrecking his cars.

"So…..What happened to Kevin?" She pouted at him reminiscing about the last car. It was red and had a sunroof. "You didn't have him long." Lorelai had a habit of naming inanimate objects, like cars and alarm clocks. It drove Chris crazy but then again made him laugh. "So many memories made in that car."

"Don't worry Babe, we can make memories in this one." Chris began to laugh as he started up the car but suddenly found Lorelai's lips against his. She was really good at catching him off guard. It was just one of the many things he loved about her.

Lorelai smiled and pulling away as she looked into Chris' deep blue eyes. "Sounds like fun."

His brain delayed about three seconds after that kiss but then he got himself together. "Always!" He laughed turned the key in the ignition but the car was already on so it sputtered and he laughed it off and backed out if the Gilmore's circular driveway.

"This is why you keep having to get new cars," Lorelai quipped as Chris made it out of her driveway. The moment they were out of sight from the Gilmore mansion Chris pushed down on the gas pedal, speeding down the street. Lorelai squealed and threw her hands up in the air as she felt the wind in her hair. "Screw you Kevin! Jeffrey is so much better!"

"Check out the sound system in this one," Chris exclaimed as he turned the radio on, "Pick a station, any station."

Lorelai giggled as she messed with the dials trying to find a song. It took her a second but she finally landed on something she recognized. "Ohhh! Oh! OH!" she shrieked and started to sing, "Billie Jean is not my lover!" She sang along with the Michael Jackson hit. "She's just a girl who claims that I am the one!"

Chris chuckled, "Another hit? Didn't he just come out with that other song? The one with the fighting?"

"Beat It." Lorelai confirmed by nodding. "Actually Billie Jean was released after Beat It. You've got to keep up Chris, this man is a genius!"

Chris shook his head, "If you say so babe but..." he glanced over at her to see her expression. "…no one beats Dead Kennedys!"

Lorelai scrunched her nose in disgust, "Puh-lease! Are you kidding me! How can you even say that? How many times do we have to have this argument…? They are total sellouts! In Plastic Surgery Disasters they totally sacrificed all of their power to sound thin and plastic and they get wordier and wordier with every new album…like are you gonna play the song or rant at me for the next hour?!" she huffed folding her arms across her chest and Chris knew she was just getting started.

He couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, but you like Metallica…however we must finish this later cause this argument could take hours and we are already running late." On a more serious note he added, "I can't afford another detention. Mrs. Fredrick is already riding my tail for last week's scotch incident."

She rolled her eyes and sighed at him. "Chris, Chris, Chris." She tisked shaking her head. "If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times it doesn't matter the size of the flask but the way you sip its contents. Observe…. " Lorelai pretended to demonstrate with her water bottle and a piece Juicy Fruit. "Sip. Gum. Sip. Gum….See. That way you can't smell it on your breath. Plus …I don't understand why you even deal with the flask… Why don't you ditch the flash switch to a clear liquid and use a water bottle." Lorelai shook the bottle at him then took off the top and took a sip. She winked at him as he stared at her dumbfounded.

They were sitting at the curb just staring at each other. "So wait…are you telling me that isn't water you are carrying?" Chris asked as he snatched the water bottle from her hand. He sniffed the beverage before taking a swig of it. Suddenly the biggest smile appeared across his face. "Lorelai Gilmore, does your mother know that you are such a sneaky girl?"

"My mother doesn't know anything." Lorelai laughed and leaned in, kissing Chris before snatching the bottle back and placing in her book bag. "Ready?" Lorelai unbuckled and reached for the door handle.

"Not so fast, Gilmore!" Chris grabbed his girlfriend, planting several kisses on her glossed lips. The shade just a tad brighter than the dress code allowed. In his mind he was helping her out by dulling it a bit.

"Christopher!" she squealed "Okay Christopher Atkins, let me out." He let her go and she stepped out of the car and blew him a kiss as he sped off from the front of the school to the senior parking lot.

She pulled that cherry bomb lip gloss out of her bag and started to reapply as she walked in the school. Her best friend Brynn Strickland walked up beside her. "Look whose on time for once."

Lorelai smirked at her. "Thanks Brynn," she said sarcastically. "Actually, Chris was pulling a "Bullet" on the way. I'm pretty sure he probably totaled his new car in the parking lot." She laughed.

"Yeah, I noticed." Brynn wasn't exactly Christopher's biggest fan so she quickly changed the subject. "… So…. I heard from Shauna Christy there is going to be a pop quiz in English….did you do the reading?" There was a little bit of panic in her voice.

Lorelai looked at her as they walked. "Shauna Christy doesn't even know what year it is…so I'm pretty sure you're safe."

"But Lorelai-"

"Relax, Brynn! I've got notes in my bag. You can borrow them just in case."

"Radical." Brynn grinned as Lorelai got the notes out of her bag for her. "You're the best did you know that?"

Lorelai picked up her bag and began trying her locker combination. It usually took her two or three times to get it to open. "Mmm. I've heard rumors." She said focusing on the numbers.

Brynn put the notes in her history binder so that she could study them during her first period. "Are you guys going to the away game tonight?"

"Mmm. I hadn't planned on it. What are we away playing again?" Lorelai had never been much for sports. She didn't care about them and she couldn't sit still long enough to figure out why the guy why the ball was running around in circles for goals.

"Football," Brynn said stealing Lorelai's lip gloss and using her locker mirror to apply it. "We're playing some little town that no one has ever heard of."

"And why does that sound like fun to me?" she asked.

"Well… for one thing, I'll be there. We could have a mini road trip. And for another thing, you'll be getting out of Hartford for the evening."

"Sold!" Lorelai laughed as she finished up and bumped Brynn to check her hair. She was headed to calculus with Mr. Feldman who talked so slow that she was pretty sure he literally slowed time down. That was one class she wouldn't mind skipping. She quickly took a swig from her water bottle as Chris came up and grabbed her waist from behind.

She squealed. "Don't get too thirsty Miss Gilmore," he whispered in her ear.

She laughed a little bit, turned and kissed him. "Hey? You wanna go to that game thingy tonight?"

"Yeah, sure. Nothing more I'd like to do then spend the evening with my girl." He gave her a big loud kiss on the cheek.

She rolled her eyes playfully as did Brynn. "Okay, well I'm gonna ride with Brynn and I'll meet you there. Right out front."

"Right out front," he repeated then smiled and walked away from her just in time for the first warning bell to ring.

* * *

Cars lined the streets in front of the modest school. This whole town was probably the size of her school, Lorelai thought as she waited in front of the school. There were tons of people lining up at the gate and then pouring into the football field. She paced a little bit and glanced at her watch for the tenth time. She scanned the crowd of people in front of her, hoping to spot her boyfriend in the throng of people around her. "Christopher…where are you?" she said out loud to no one in particular.

She noticed a girl standing at the bottom of the stairs cleaning a camera lens. "Excuse me…" she started, "Do you know where I can find a payphone around here?"

The girl was beautiful. She had wild curly red hair and soft fair skin. Lorelai thought she belonged on the cover of a magazine. She was all dressed up in a red and white sweater that read 'Stars Hollow High' so Lorelai thought she must know her way around here.

"Oh yeah," The girl pointed to a store across the street. "You can find one across the street in front of the hardware store." Then gave her the once over.

Lorelai mustered up a smile, "Thanks."

"No problem." The girl extended her hand, "I'm Rachel by the way."

"Lorelai." She followed looking over her camera. Lorelai had new Polaroid camera she got for her birthday a few months ago but it was nothing like that. "Hey cool camera!"

"Thanks, it's new. My parents gave it to me this morning as sort of a congratulatory gift," Rachel said looking from her back down to the camera in her hand.

Lorelai just happened to be a little bit nosey so she pressed on. "Graduation?"

"Sort of…. More like a life graduation. I just got this really cool job that I've been dreaming about for like…well ever…."

"Really? That's kinda cool… what kind of job did you get?"

Rachel wasn't even fazed talking to the strange girl with the dazzling blue eyes. She actually found herself liking her. "It's actually an out of state job."

"Awesome. Man how I wish I could leave this state," Lorelai said jealously admiring the girl one more time. "Well I guess I should go use the phone before the game starts."

"Sure, nice meeting you." Rachel smiled and headed into the gym. She had some pictures to take.

"You too!" Lorelai smiled and walked away heading off to the pay phone. She dropped her bag at her feet and picked up the receiver. She was so angry she didn't realize she was muttering to herself as inserted a dime into the slot and dialed Chris' number.

The phone rang twice and then a woman's phone came on the other end. "Hayden's residence."

"Hello, is Christopher there?" Lorelai could tell by the woman's voice that she was definitely not Chris' mother but instead on of the maids. She couldn't place the face with the voice in her head though.

"No ma'am. Mr. Hayden isn't in this evening." The woman informed her quickly.

Lorelai sighed as she realized she'd been stood up and Chris wasn't coming to the game. "Do you know who he's out with?"

"Some young boys from his school. Can I take a message?" the maid asked.

"No thank you." She hung up the phone and took a deep breath in, trying to remain calm and enjoy the night she had ahead of her. She still had Brynn. They could make it a girl's night. No way would she let Christopher ruin a great evening. As long as she didn't have to be cooped in the Gilmore jailhouse everything would be fine. Across the street the sun was setting. The stadium lights came on and the band started to play.

She slowly picked her bag up off the ground and glanced into the Hardware store. There was a young woman standing behind counter. She couldn't have been much older than Lorelai. She wondered why the young blonde girl wasn't as the game when she noticed her baby bump. She watched her flip through a magazine for a few seconds as a tall gruff man came down from what appeared to be stairs he walked across the room and handed a box of something to someone just out of Lorelai's view… but a few seconds later the person…a boy dressed in a red and white t shirt and jeans. 'Star Hollow Minutemen' was written across the front of his shirt. The young man headed across the street to the high school and Lorelai followed behind him.

"Hey Minuteman!" she called out to the boy hurrying to try and catch up with him. He didn't seem to notice until she called out again. "Hey! Wait up!"

"Huh?" he stopped and turned around. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah- geez…" she said breathless. It wasn't far but it was a universal truth that Lorelai Gilmore did not run because she was allergic to it, even short distances. "Dude… did you go to summer camp with Bruce Jenner's summer camp or something? What the heck man?"

He just stared at her. What was this girl talking about? He didn't recognize her and he was pretty sure she didn't go to his school. "Uhh… can I help you?"

"Yeah, my boyfriend was supposed to bring my ticket for the game but he totally bailed… think you could get me in? My friends are already inside and I was hoping since you go here… you might have an in?" she asked hopefully.

Again, he just looked at her. But this time it wasn't because she wasn't making much sense…. Which she wasn't…. this time it was because of her eyes. He had the chance to look into her eyes. They were the most brilliant blue eyes he'd ever seen, and he had definitely seen them before.

"You do go here don't you?" she asked snapping him back to reality. She obviously didn't recognize him but then again why would she. He had only ever seen her that one time when he was helping his dad fix stuff at Mia's inn. Still, he was a little bit enthralled by seeing her again.

"Oh, yeah, uh… yes. I am… I can get you in, sure. C'mon." He turned and started walking again as she began to talk a mile a minute.

"Yeah, thanks. You are seriously my favorite person in the world right now, I mean because you totally didn't have to help me. I'm Lorelai by the way. I go to EHA and I drove all the way down here with my friend and she was obviously smart enough to buy her own ticket but, like I said I was supposed to meet my boyfriend here, and he was supposed to bring my ticket, but he flaked. He's been flaking out a lot lately. Not that he's not a good guy because he is, he's just… a guy." She rolled her eyes just thinking about it not realizing the look that her savior had on his face just trying to keep up. "So, anyway, that's my story what's your name."

"I'm Luke."

"So do you work at the hardware store?" Lorelai asked pointing back at the hardware store across the street.

Luke shrugged. "Something like that."

"Well… it seemed like you were doing work related things..."

"Sure." He was still walking towards the school.

She sighed. "Not too chatty are you?"

"What?" He stopped and looked at her.

Lorelai stopped too and put her hands on her hips. "You're kinda making me do all the work here."

"Work?" he started not understanding why she was talking to him really but he elaborated. "It's a family business. My dad runs it and my sister works behind the register."

"Aww. That's nice. Sounds like your family really gets along. I wish my family got along."

He shrugged. "We have our ups and downs like most families but I guess we're close."

Lorelai scoffed. "Ha! Most families… I bet my family makes your family look like the freakin' Cleavers."

Luke frowned, "It can't be all downs."

"The only thing that's up is their noses, which are always in the air."

"Ahh," Luke noted, "Hold on a second, let me get you a ticket."

Lorelai watched as Luke gabbed with the guy behind the check in counter. He high-fived the attendant and was handed a ticket.

"Here you go." Luke handed her the ticket stub.

"Thank you sooo much. You're my favorite person!" Lorelai gushed in gratitude.

"Welcome," he said and she smiled to herself wondering what he had against multi worded sentences.

Just by the home team bleachers Luke saw Rachel and smiled. "Well …. See ya!" he called and jogged off to meet up with her.

Lorelai handed her ticket to the attendant and made her way through the gym. The gym was pretty decorated. Her mother would call the overly enthusiastic use of the color red tacky but Lorelai thought it showed a lot of school spirit. Banners and streamers were hung from the ceilings. Student dressed in white and red, faces were painted with player's numbers. Lorelai scanned the crowd for her best friend.

"Lorelai! Lorelai over here!" Brynn yelled from the second row from the top of the guest side of the bleachers.

Lorelai waved back and made her way to her friend, who sat next a strange male but Brynn wasted no time introducing him. "This is Collin, he goes here." She beamed with enthusiasm. One a scale from 1 to extremely enthusiastic Brynn usually aired on the side of too much.

"Hey. I'm Lorelai." She smiled but before she could say anything else Brynn started talking again.

"Where's Chris?"

"Don't know." Lorelai shrugged. "I called, but the maid said he was out. Probably went out with his friends or something. I'm 99% sure I've been ditched."

"Oh." Brynn gave Lorelai a disappointed face before showing a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. Collin was just saying there is a party going on after the game so maybe this night can be salvaged after all."

Lorelai grinned. "A party you say… why Brynn you know that I always make it home before curfew. I can't imagine anything that would be fun enough to keep me away from Mother and Father on a Friday night."

They both laughed at her sarcasm as Colin began to explain that they were setting up at a dance studio in the middle of town and that usually these parties were pretty fun.

"Awesome! Fun is what I need." Lorelai smiled.

"Don't we all." Brynn gave her best friend a comforting side hug, "Hang in there Kid." Chris always has an answer."

Lorelai chuckled. "Ha! More like an excuse."

"You said it not me, but you love him too much to stay mad at him." She rolled her eyes thinking about how much slack her best friend cut the jerk.

"Yeah," Lorelai agreed. "You're right."

Lorelai didn't pay much attention to the game, not only was she not into sports but her mind was elsewhere. As much as she said she didn't want Chris to ruin her night, it was slowly taking its toll on her that he once again found something more important to do than hanging out with her.

As the game went on Brynn was steadily chatting up Collin the party guy and Lorelai was feeling more and more like the third wheel. She needed more of a distraction.

"Hey!" Lorelai shouted over the roar of the crowd. "I'm gonna go get some food. "

"Okay," Brynn and Collin said in unison.

Lorelai made her way down the bleachers, outside the double doors to the concession stand. She ordered a Coke and some potato chips and then sat down outside on the lawn and enjoyed her snack. It felt like she was only out there a few minutes but suddenly a loud sound came from the gym followed by a roaring crowd and then like a thousand people came pouring out of the gym. Some hung around and talked but most, at least the adults anyway, began dispersing. She got up to find Brynn and as she walked back towards the gate but stopped when she noticed the camera girl from earlier talking to Luke. Luke looked upset. His face was white, his mouth fixed in a downward position, his fists clenched to his side. The girl placed a gentle hand on his arm but he pulled away.

Lorelai moved in a little closer to hear what was going on but she couldn't really hear them. Just she something about Utah and she heard Luke mutter "Just leave."

Rachel looked down and moved her hand away from Luke's arm. The girl nodded and then Lorelai watched as the red curls faded into the dark streets leaving Luke frozen where she left him.


	3. Party in Small Town USA

**Hi! First of all sorry this took so long but I really did have it already written. I just kept changing it so it took me awhile to get it edited. I really hope you all like. I have chapter three written I just need to pre-edit for my BETA. And I'm working on four now. I'm trying to stay ahead of the game this time. I don't want to leave another uncompleted story. (Which will not stay uncompleted forever!) Anyway, please enjoy and review. Even if it's bad. I really really need to know what you guys think!**

**Also, I do not own anything. **

**The Divine Comedy is by Dante**

Party in Small Town USA

The air was still around him. Luke felt himself shudder a little in the darkness. All that time. All they'd been through and for her to just up and leave like this. Her words replayed over in his mind.

"I'm sorry Luke, this just isn't what I want. You knew this… it wasn't a secret or anything."

"I thought you'd at least be here through graduation."

"What's the point?" she sighed. "You know the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you but I've got to do what's right for me right now."

"Rachel… I love you. I can- I could-" He couldn't find the words. He'd never been a man of many words but he could certainly figure something out. She'd been with him through everything. Through his baseball injury last spring and his mom dying…. He could do this for her and they could be together.

"No you can't…" she sighed looking up at him. "You know you can't come with me."

"Yes, I can!" he said. "I'm 18. I love you. I just want to be with you!"

"But you love your dad. You love your sister. Hell, you love living in this crazy town and you've got a full ride to UConn… you can't give that up. Besides, with the baby coming and everything and your mom gone… your family needs you now Luke. They need you now more than ever."

She was right. He was hurt and she was right. He couldn't believe this was happening. "Well… maybe we could do the long distance thing…"

She shrugged. "I don't think so…Long distance relationships are hard and I don't want you to resent me."

"I could never resent you."

She smiled. "I love you Luke. But I need to go… and I need to figure things out."

"So you're just gonna go…. Throw away everything just like that?!"

She nodded. He didn't know how much it hurt her too but she had never been able to picture herself here. In this town… in this life that she knew he wanted. She couldn't be that girl for him and she felt bad, but it just would never be her.

"Fine! Just go then," he said.

Now he regretted that he left things like that. He didn't want to be that guy. He was just so upset. All around him things had been changing. His mom died, and then Liz got pregnant, and now Rachel was leaving. He felt like things were coming unhinged when all he wanted was to stay grounded.

He didn't see the girl he got into the game watching him. Nor did he really care. His heart was breaking into pieces and he was trying hard to pull himself back together.

He heard someone coming up behind him. "Hey Butch! Good game tonight! We kicked some prep school ass!"

He looked at his best friend. "Yeah…"

John and Luke had been best friends forever. And their Mom's had been best friends for a lifetime before that. They'd grown up together and were hardly ever spotted one without the other.

"What's up, dude? What's wrong?"

Luke took a breath and then looked at John. "Rachel is gone."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"I mean she is leaving…. She's packing her bags and taking off for Utah or something like that like first thing tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" he repeated. "We're not even halfway through senior year… what about prom? What about graduation?"

"I don't know John… I just…" he sighed again. "I don't even know."

His friend contemplated this for a minute. "I'm sorry dude…. Really… I wish there was something I could do…"

"It's fine. She made her choice…. I think I'm just gonna head home."

"What?!" he exclaimed. "NO! What about the party?"

"I'm really not in the mood to party John…"

"But you promised." He sing-songed mostly just wanting to cheer Luke up and get his mind off of Rachel. "You swore to Mia you'd get me home in one piece."

Luke sighed. He didn't swear to Mia but he did say they'd go to this thing together. And he didn't really want to go home to Liz moping about not being able to participate and his father moping about his mom. Luke really missed his mom, but even he knew no one felt the effects of her being gone more than his dad.

Since the day she died, a little over six months ago, his father had been a changed man. And Luke was sure that he would probably never be the same again.

He wasn't happy about it. He really didn't want to be bothered with a party. Not tonight. Not after this but finally he huffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll go," he grunted.

"Good choice," John said snatching the baseball cap off his head. "You never know, you might have some fun."

"I really don't see how anyone could see consuming copious quantities of junk food and beer fun," Luke retorted as he attempted to grab his hat back.

His best friend just had a laugh at his expense as he snatched the hat away and teased. "You are the perfect example of what we call a 'party pooper'."

"Just because I want to live to see my thirties does not make me a party pooper," Luke grumbled.

"Sure, what ever you say..." John laughed before muttering, "Party pooper." Under his breath loud enough for Luke to hear him. John still had Luke's hat though and with that as leverage he took off down the street glad to have given his friend some distraction from his heart ache.

Luke and Rachel were textbook definition high school sweethearts. Everyone in town just knew that they were going to graduate and get married and Luke would take over the hardware store and Rachel would take pictures probably for the Stars Hollow Gazette or something and they'd live happily ever after…. And that probably would have been the case if it were for that little itch Rachel had. All she wanted…all she'd ever wanted was to get out of Stars Hollow and not be stuck there like her parents and everyone else she knew seemed to be. Unfortunately for their relationship Luke really didn't have that same drive to get away. They both knew that this little town would always be his home.

It was all he could think about now as he chased after John. How could he not see this coming… well that and getting his hat back, so he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings and collide right into someone, "Omph!" Both parties were knocked on their butts.

"It's fine, I'm fine." Lorelai said as she pushed herself up off the ground, she glanced up at him and smiled, "Hey you're the ticket guy!"

"And you are the girl who depended on her boyfriend to get a ticket."

She frowned. "Hey, you don't have to be a grouch about it?"

"And you don't have to walk in front of people," he shot back.

"Hey! You're the one who ran into me!" she reminded him.

He rolled his eyes. "Please… you were completely in lala land not watching where you were going."

"How do you know? You were chasing after that other guy. You didn't even see me!"

"I know that if you were paying attention you would have seen me coming," he said pointedly.

She crossed her arms. "Just because your girlfriend dumped you in the middle of the street doesn't mean you have to take it out on the rest of us!"

How dare she talk to him like that? She didn't know him. She had no right…. How did she even know? He was so angry. He huffed and turned around to begin walking away from her. She could hear him muttering something about people not minding their own business as he did.

Her jaw dropped and she quickly began to follow him. "Hey! Wait up! Where do you think you're going?" she demanded. "We were having a discussion."

"No!" he said. "We were having an argument and I feel that it is my personal responsibility to not argue with strange people in the street."

She ran in front of him to stop him from walking away. "First of all this isn't an argument. We'd be talking a lot louder if it was. Trust me, I know. I have them with my mother on a bi-hourly basis… and second of all…we're not strangers… I told you earlier… my name is Lorelai. And you're Luke…"

He shook his head. "I didn't say strangers I said strange people."

"I may be strange but you're really grumpy." She took his hand and started pulling him away.

He couldn't believe this. What did this girl think he was doing? She pulled him over to the gazebo. "Sit down."

"What? Why?"

She had a no nonsense look on her face. "Just do it, okay?"

He sighed. "Fine." And he said down and waited while she dug through her purse but he couldn't stop himself from asking, "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for something. Ahh!" she smiled as she removed something from her bag and looked at him presenting pulled five Tic Tacs a Starburst and an Altoid.

"What is that?" he asked looking down at her hand.

She sat down beside him. "Since you are so grumpy I figured you must be hungry. I knew I had some candy in here somewhere. It'd be better if we were at my house though. In my bedroom I have a whole dresser drawer dedicated to my friend, Mr. Tootsie Roll."

"I'm not hungry," Luke grumbled. "Besides candy isn't a substitute for real food. All it does is clog arteries and lead to obesity."

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Lorelai feigned a pout.

Luke took her seriously and quickly stammered, "No...I...I didn't say that. You are perfect...I'm mean for a person your age and height you are perfectly proportioned."

"Perfectly proportioned?" Lorelai repeated. "Oh gee sailor take me now."

Luke rolled his eyes and got up. "I gotta go find John."

"That kid you were chasing?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah." Luke left it at that and began to walk out of the gazebo, Lorelai following shortly behind. "Don't you have a curfew or something?"

"I do, but like their second cousins the rules, curfews are meant to be broken. Right?" Lorelai joked. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just about to head to a party and didn't know if you were lost or something," Luke explained.

"Party? You mean the one at Miss Betty's place?"

That earned her another eye roll. "Miss Patty's studio. And yes, there," Luke said correcting her quickly.

Lorelai pretended not to notice that he seemed annoyed. "Yeah I'm going there too, this kid, Collin...I think...invited my friend Brynn and I to go."

"Collin? You mean Collin Fink. He's no good."

"What do you mean 'no good'? He isn't like a murderer or rapist, is he?" Her blue eyes widen at the thought since she'd kind of left her best friend with a total stranger.

"No he's just a punk. Loves to start trouble and has everyone around clean up his mess."

"Ahh! Yeah we have a few those at EHA. More than a few!" Lorelai said as a matter of factly.

"EHA?" Luke asked as he walked up the wide stairs to Miss Patty's.

"East Hartford Academy. The school your school was up against tonight." Lorelai climbed the steps after Luke.

"Oh yeah… right." Luke waited until they were both at the top until her opened the large wood sliding doors open. Letting out loud music and a few stray red Solo cups.

"Hey Butch! My man!" One short brown haired kid said greeting them.

"Whose Butch?" Lorelai asked. "I thought you said your name was Luke." Luke turned a little red and pretended not to hear her. "Ahhh! You're Butch," Lorelai said to herself and giggled at the nickname. "Makes sense."

Before he could say anything Brynn walked up to them with a red cup in one hand and Collin's hand in the other. "HEY LORE!"

"Hey!" Lorelai smiled at the familiar face. "Hi Collin."

"Call me Fink, everyone does." Collin wiped his free hand from crumbs before giving Lorelai a handshake.

Luke was right, he literally did leave a mess for others to clean up. What a jerk.

"Fink it is." Lorelai faked a smile.

"So do you go by just 'Lorelai' or do you have a nickname?"

"Nope.'Lorelai' is just fine."

"Or Umlauts." Brynn said in a hushed tone.

"Shut up!" Lorelai swatted jokingly at her friend. "No one's called me that since camp."

"Sorry." Brynn laughed to herself. "What's going on here?" she asked nodding over to Luke who was now across the room.

"Nothing… nothing…. It's just a guy."

"What kind of name is Butch anyway?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Just a nickname… Look we were just talking. He just got his heart handed to him about twenty minutes ago and I'm with Chris. There is nothing going on there. He's just a guy."

Brynn smirked. She couldn't help it. Lorelai had such a serious look on her face it was almost comical. "Me thinks you doth protest too much Miss Gilmore."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I need a drink," she said and went to find a beer. Though she wasn't sure if she'd find anything around here.

"Come on Lore!" Brynn called after her. "I was just kidding!"

Lorelai kept walking though. She wasn't really angry with Brynn but more confused with herself. Why did she get so irritated so quickly? That kid wasn't even her type. And she was in love with Christopher. He just made her mad by ditching her. That was all.

The night continued to drag on slowly it seemed, and Lorelai wasn't having any fun. Honestly neither was Luke. They seemed to be the only two not enjoying themselves here. She saw him sitting outside on a bench across from the studio and decided to join him. "Hey there stranger."

"Hey." Luke gave a small wave.

"So awesome party?"

Luke chuckled, "Not their worst."

"There's worse?" Lorelai asked dumbfounded. "You have got to be kidding me."

"This town is full of crazy people and their crazy party ideas."

"Name one," Lorelai challenged, intrigued.

"Well there is this woman, Babette, who just got married to Morey and they just threw Lacey and Matt a birthday party."

"So you think birthday parties are bad?" Lorelai wondered.

"No." Luke sighed, "Lacey and Matt are their gnomes."

"I'm sorry did you say gnomes? As in the garden decoration."

"Bingo."

"No way!" Lorelai broke out in laughter. "That's hilarious! So were you invited? Did you have to were a little party hat? What kind of cake was there? I bet it was mud pie!"

"Oh brother!" Luke rolled his eyes.

"Were there any other garden decorations invited? Like a roof reindeer or maybe one of those ceramic ducks?"

"That's it I'm leaving." Luke stood up and began walking away.

"Hey! Wait!" Lorelai chased after him. "Wait up! Why do you keep walking away from me? It's starting to hurt my feelings." She poked out her bottom lip at him and he smiled. It was small but she saw it.

"HEY! You smiled. I didn't know you were capable." He shrugged and they walked silently for a few minutes. Both stuck in their own thoughts. Luke was stuck on Rachel of course and Lorelai was thinking about Christopher and why he was being so- well...Christopher.

Chris never was a calendar type guy. He never was punctual unless rushed, Lorelai was used to it. She knew nothing was really set in stone with him. It still stung though. No one wants to be stood up. Truth was Lorelai sometimes did question Christopher's loyalty and her heart. Chris was the easy choice. The convenient choice. He'd always just been there. She'd never really imagined herself with anyone else.

"Hey, you alright?" Luke asked noting the concerned look on Lorelai's face.

Lorelai quickly smiled and nodded, "I'm fine."

Luke knew she was lying, he just knew.

As they walked away from the loud music and the party and their friends Lorelai took a long look around. She wanted to remember this place. Its mom and pop shops and quiet streets.

Her mind kept wandering back to Rachel. Who could want to leave all this? she wondered, but at the same time she thought the same could be asked of her. Who would ever want to leave the safe comforts of her mansion and all of Mommy and Daddy's money like she did? It was almost mockable. Poor little rich girl, she thought shaking her head. She couldn't help it that she could identify with wanting to get out. It was seemingly something she wanted her whole life, she couldn't remember a time when 'home' was a place she craved to be, instead it was a place she dreaded going back to… She could see her future so clearly. A little blue house with lots of windows maybe on the beach. She loved the beach. Or maybe in a small town like this. It seemed like such a nice place to live. "What's it like?" She found herself asking out loud.

Luke looked over, "What's what like?"

She stopped walking and faced him. "Living here? What's it like?"

"I don't know," he answered. He appeared to be deep in thought about the question for a moment, then continued, "This town is crazy. I mean… they have festivals like every other day and the neighbors are always in everyone else's business but… I mean honestly it's pretty good. I don't think I could have gotten through losing my mom if I hadn't lived here."

Lorelai nodded silently and they started walking again. Slowly she began to take in the boy standing beside her. From the backwards red baseball hat sitting on his long unruly hair to his dirty jeans. His personality was completely different from what you'd expect when you first saw him. "This town is so beautiful…" she said finally.

"Yeah… I guess it is." He shrugged. To him, this was just home. The same streets he'd always seen, but for Lorelai this place was like wonderland. How could someplace so simple be so magnificent at the same time? It almost surprised her when Luke asked, "What's it like where you live?" He really wasn't sure why he did. Something about breaking the conversation now just seemed wrong.

"Ohh…" she looked up at the stars and thought about this for a minute before finally glancing over at him and saying, "Well, lets just say at my house we have a plaque on the door that reads 'through me you enter into the city of woes, through me you enter into eternal pain, through me you enter the population of loss. . . .abandon all hope, you who enter here.'"

Luke shook his head but couldn't help but smile. "The path to paradise begins in hell."

Her jaw dropped but the biggest smile appeared across her face. "You know the Divine Comedy?"

"Yeah… doesn't everyone at least have to read the Inferno…"

"Yeah, but reading it for school is one thing… you know it." He knew it, like she knew it. The Divine Comedy had been her favorite reading assignment so far.

He shrugged again. "Maybe…"

"Maybe?" she said excitedly. "You have no idea how completely cool that makes you in my book."

"Well," he took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. "Thanks… but you didn't really answer my question."

She nodded. "Yeah but that's okay because you really just want to tell me what happened with your girlfriend?" She knew they hadn't known each other very long but sometimes it could be helpful to talk things out with a stranger.

"Not really." But he sighed and started talking anyway. "Her name is Rachel…we've been dating since sophomore year…"

"Wow."

"Yeah… I thought I was going to marry that girl. I love her. I really do… I just… I don't understand why I can never be enough for her. Forget this town… I'd leave this stupid town. I'd do anything for her but she just wants to push me away."

"Maybe she thinks you'd resent her," Lorelai said. "I mean… from everything you've said tonight…it sounds like you love this place. I think that if you left for her you'd be miserable and you probably would resent her."

He shrugged. She was right. He knew she was right and Rachel was right to not let him come along. His family honestly did need him but… he'd miss her. "I don't really know," he admitted as their little stroll ended at the lake. "What about you?" he asked plopping down on the bank.

"What about me?" She followed suit and sat down beside him.

"What are you going to do about the jerk that stood you up?"

"Oh…" she put her hand over her face and groaned loudly. "I don't even know. Is that crazy?" she asked. "It sounds crazy to me! If it was literally any other guy he'd be yesterday's horoscope."

Luke gave her a look. "Well what makes him so special?"

"I don't know. He's one of my best friends… we've know each other forever… my mother has already picked out the china pattern for our wedding."

"You're joking," he deadpanned and she conceded.

"I am… but … only a little bit."

"Seems like an asshat to me…"

She laughed a little. "He's not so bad. Really… I'm just mad at him. Sometimes he can be really fun… and all of my first... everythings were with him."

Luke couldn't say he didn't understand but he did feel a slight bit protective over this girl. For what reason he couldn't really say. "As long as you're happy."

"I'll freeze him out for a few days, he'll grovel, and we'll be fine." She nodded and so he did too.

They weren't really sure how long they were out there. Maybe fifteen minutes. Maybe an hour. Maybe five hours. They lost track of all time like the world around them didn't exist. They sat there talking all night until a car driving past interrupted their private little world.

"Oh my god… how long have we been sitting out here?" Lorelai asked.

"No idea." Luke shrugged. "Awhile probably."

Miss cool, calm, and collected playing fast and loud with the rules was now freaking out. "I've got to get home. My mom is gonna kill me."

"Okay, okay… you live in Hartford right?" He asked. "I can take you."

She nodded. It didn't take them long to get back to his truck. "Wow…" she said seeing it for the first time.

"What?"

"Nothing I've just…. I've never ridden in a truck like this before. Actually I don't think I've ever ridden in a truck at all." Her smile was unshakable as she climbed up into the passenger side.

"Me and my dad built it," Luke told her as he started her up and she jolted down the road.

"Really? Me and my dad have never done anything like that."

"Yeah? Your dad not a hands on kinda guy?"

"Well… he really does have a thing for old cars but I'm a girl… and I don't have a thing for cars at all… in all honesty though me and my dad don't really talk much… he's always away on business… so it's usually just me and my mom at home."

"You said before you guys argue a lot?" he asked.

"Yeah…" she sighed." My mother is probably the most impossible woman on the planet."

Luke got really quiet and Lorelai glanced over at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing… nothing… it's just… my mom died about six months ago. I'd give anything to be able to argue with her again."

Lorelai frowned. "Oh my god Luke. I'm really sorry…"

"It's okay," he said. "I don't want to talk about it."

She nodded understanding, but she really hadn't experienced a loss like that before and now she was at a loss for words. So they rode in silence except for Lorelai occasionally giving Luke directions. When they pulled up at the gate Lorelai stopped him from turning in even though it was open.

"Wait let me out here," she said getting him to stop at the end of her driveway. "If my mom is still awake she'll freak if she sees me getting out of your truck. It'll open a can of worms that I think should just stay closed for tonight." He nodded and put the truck in park. She smiled at him. "Thank you so much for bringing me home though."

"Sure, anytime," he said as she opened the door as quietly as she could and stepped out of the truck. She grabbed her bag and closed the door.

Luke put the car in drive to go back to the hollow but Lorelai stopped him.

"Hey Luke," she said quietly through the window.

"Yeah?"

She got this big illustrious grin on her face and as long as he lived he would never be able to forget this moment. "Remember tonight, for it's the beginning of always."

**Please Review! Please! Please! Please!**


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